November 29, 2011

Wolf, Snipes Named AVCA All-Americans

LEXINGTON, KY – Armstrong Atlantic State’s Brittany Wolf and Flagler’s Olivia Snipes were both named All-Americans by the American Volleyball Coaches Association on Monday.  Both players were named to the third team and both are the first All-Americans in the history of their respective programs.  Flagler’s Dianna Craine was also recognized as an honorable mention.   It is only the second time in Peach Belt history that two league players were named AVCA All-Americans, the first since 2003.

The 2011 Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year, Wolf caps an outstanding campaign that saw the Bethlehem, Ga., native lead the league in hitting percentage (.406) as well as rank sixth in NCAA Division II in that category. She also averaged 1.04 blocks per set, second in the PBC and 48th in NCAA Division II.

The rise for Wolf in her Pirate career has been meteoric as she played in just nine matches as a true freshman in 2009, then hit .238 with 242 kills as a sophomore in 2010, earning All-PBC Tournament honors. She was a preseason All-PBC selection at the beginning of 2011 and was the PBC's Player of the Week on Oct. 24.

Armstrong finished the 2011 season with a program-best 36-3 overall record, the 2011 Peach Belt Conference regular season championship and a fifth straight berth in the NCAA Championships.

Snipes earned third-team honors, the first Flagler player to be selected to one of the three teams in the history of the program.

Snipes was the Peach Belt Conference’s Setter of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection. She was selected as the PBC Tournament's Most Valuable Player and earned Daktronics second-team All-Southeast Region honors. She earned conference specialist of the week honors three times and is sixth in the country in assists per set (11.60). Snipes broke the school's single-season assist mark and has tallied 1,589 this season. She has recorded a team-best 18 double-doubles this season, including a 52-assist, 21-dig effort in the regional final at Wingate.  Snipes is a first-time AVCA All-American.

Snipes is currently preparing to lead the Saints into the NCAA Elite Eight after the team captured the Southeast Regional Championship for the second time in three years.

AVCA Southeast All-Region Team

 

Player

School

Pos.

Cl.

Brendyce Budd

Armstrong Atlantic University

RS/Opp.

Sr.

Dianna Craine

Flalger College

OH

Jr.

Casey Gnann

Flagler College

DS/Lib.

Jr.

Anna Hilton

Wingate University

RS/Opp.

So.

Cory McGowan

Wingate University

OH

So.

Crystal Niederriter

Flagler College

MH

Sr.

Jordan Raye

Catawba College

S

Jr.

Jessica Santaneillo

Armstrong Atlantic University

OH

So.

Olivia Snipes

Flagler College

Setter

Sr.

Emilee Taylor

Flagler College

OH

So.

Katlyn Whitmer

Catawba College

OH 

Jr.

Brittany Wolf

Armstrong Atlantic University

MH

Jr.

Jenny Young

Catawba College

S/Lib.

Jr.

Liz Willis****

Wingate University

S

Sr.

Region Freshman of the Year: Lexi Potter, Wingate, MH

Honorable Mention: Taylor Clendenin (Lees-McRae, OH, Jr.), Caitlyn Dean (Tusculum, DS/Lib., So.), Blaire Fowler (Lincoln Memorial, MH, Jr.), Shay Meeks (Catawba, OH, Sr.), Leia Pittman (Armstrong Atlantic, MH, Jr.), Ashley Seal (Armstrong Atlantic, S, Jr.)